In her paper the author emphasises that economic and social modernization are of equal importance nowadays in Hungary. For economic modernization the possibility of the modification of socio-economic processes, and for social modernization the future-shaping power constitutes the main precondition. While the modification of socio-economic processes can be investigated by their stability/instability analyses, the future-shaping power can be gauged by the future orientation of individuals and social organizations. "Factor four" provides the guidelines for economic modernization, and a future-oriented education and training system can ensure a solid basis for social modernization.